ARTEMISA: Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday officiated at a ceremony to mark the 61st anniversary of the guerrilla assault on the Moncada Barracks, widely regarded as the beginning of the Cuban Revolution.

More than 100 rebels led by Fidel Castro attempted to storm the military facility at Moncada on July 26, 1953, in the first armed action of the revolution to topple dictator Fulgencio Batista.

The assault ended in a crushing defeat for the rebels, with many killed, while Fidel and Raul Castro were captured and imprisoned.

Around 8,000 people attended Saturday's ceremony in Artemisa, around 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Havana, headed by Raul Castro, 83, dressed in military fatigues.